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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Report on the Shooting of Raymond Herisse Released

Miami –March 17, 2015

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has released an 86
page final report relating to the May 30, 2011 fatal shooting of Raymond
Herisse.The report provides extensive
information relating to the variety of different crime scenes extending from
the initial police contact at the 1600 block of Collins Avenue to the final
incident at the intersection of 13th and Collins Avenue on Miami Beach.Contained in the report are 62 witness
summaries (32 civilian witnesses and 30 police officers) which provide a picture
of the entire stream of events which ended with the shooting of Raymond
Herisse.

As is done with the release of every report on a fatal
police shooting, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office will be forwarding this
report to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of
Florida for their review.

On May 30, 2011, at approximately 3:50am, during the
Memorial Day Urban Beach weekend, a Hialeah Police Officer, conducting a
traffic stop in the 1600 block of Collins Avenue, attempted to arrest a driver
for failure to obey lawful commands.While fleeing the scene the driver, Raymond Herisse struck the officer
and fled southbound on Collins Avenue at a high rate of speed in the northbound
lane.Officers in the 1500 block of
Collins Avenue fired at the vehicle in an attempt to prevent any injury to
persons in the area.As Herisse drove
south on Collins Avenue, he crashed into multiple occupied automobiles, at times
driving on the crowded sidewalks.Herisse also attempted to run over uniform police officers on bicycles
who were forced to jump over barricades to avoid being struck.Herrise ran over the bicycles moments after
the officers jumped off.Officers in the
1400 block of Collins Avenue also fired at Herisse to try to stop him from
hitting them or anyone else in the area.Unfortunately, because of the crowd of people who were in the area,
three (3) civilian bystanders sustained gunshot injuries as a result of the
police actions during this incident.

Herisse’s vehicle, a Hyundai, came to a stop at the
intersection of 13th and Collins Avenue.Although the vehicle stopped, Herisse did not turn off the engine.Further, the off and on flashing of the brake
lights indicated that the brake pedal was repeatedly being pressed and
released.Prior police radio
transmissions to officers in the area indicated that Herisse had struck another
officer, shots had been fired, and that he was fleeing at a high rate of speed.Gunshots were audible throughout the area,
but the officers at 13th Street did not know who was actually doing all of the
shooting.Approximately one minute after
Herisse fled down Collins Avenue striking civilian cars, attempting to run over
police officers, with shots being fired, the source being unknown, police
officers surrounded the Sonata and commanded Herisse to stop moving and exit
the vehicle for their protection.Herisse did not comply with these commands and continued moving inside
the vehicle, including a downward motion in what the officers would have
reasonably perceived to be a threat.Upon seeing these movements by Herisse inside the vehicle, several
police officers discharged their weapons numerous times at the Herisse fatally
wounding him.A fully loaded 9mm firearm
that was reported stolen in West Palm Beach in 2009 was found wrapped in a
T-shirt on the rear passenger floorboard of the vehicle.

As with the other shooting event, a civilian was severely
injured during this last shooting.

Herisse was later found to have a blood alcohol content of
.14.It was also subsequently determined
that Herisse had a suspended driver’s license.

The statutes applicable to the use of deadly force by police
officers are ss. 776.05 and 776.012.These statutes permit an officer to use deadly force when the officer
believes it is necessary to defend him or herself or another from bodily harm
while making an arrest, when necessarily committed in arresting felons fleeing
from justice, or when the officer reasonably believes that such force is
necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another
or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.

The courts have recognized that “especially trained law
enforcement officers, take risks when they think they are called upon to
prevent imminent harm to person or property.Efforts to prevent such harm sometimes cause injury to the officers or
to bystanders.”McClamma v. State, 138
So. 3d 578, 585-86 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014).

In each of the different shooting incidents, the evidence
points to the conclusion that the officers did not commit a criminal act and
were justified in the use of the deadly force they reasonably believed to be
necessary to defend themselves from bodily harm or using while attempting to
arrest Mr. Herisse, who was a fleeing from the commission of multiple felonies.